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Dark Elf Kabal
__TOC__ 'Summary' A kabal is a large group of people dedicated to one of the three planes of existence in Arcane philosophy. Literally "cult" in Eldarin, the teachings of a kabal revolve around reaching the pinnacle of sensation on a specific plane. The dark elven society is divided into three kabals, all accentuating their own aspects of life, carrying out their own tasks and featuring their own possibilities in the city. Each kabal is recognized as a crucial part of Malekith, as the entire society would crumble should any of them cease to function. The kabals have formed gradually and naturally over time and always continue to develop in their respective directions. Worth noting that their "official" names were invented and are used only by foreigners – the dark elves themselves refer to kabals by their aliases. (Note on names: followers of a specific kabal are referred to using titles. For example, instead of saying "member of the kabal of the Bloody Claw", you just say "Warrior".) 'Membership' All free citizens of Malekith belong to a kabal. Much like a denizen in any other country may choose his or her own field of occupation, each dark elf is free to choose which kabal they wish to join. They are assigned to that of their parents upon birth, and may experiment with anything they want until they reach the age of 6 (mentally equivalent to a 18 year old human). They must then make up their mind and dedicate themselves to the aspect of sensation that pleases them the most. Although a member of a kabal needs not put down every second of his life on his or her designated practices, it is respected and encouraged. On the other hand, if a member repeatedly fails their duties or shows a lack of faith and dedication, they risk to be permanently expelled from Malekith or even killed. Apathy is considered the cardinal sin in Arcanum. 'Clans' Kabals are further sub-divided into clans. A clan is a cult within a cult that has specialized even more in one aspect of its kabal's philosophy, with practices and traditions to take that aspect to its maximum. Unlike kabals themselves, there is no obligation to belong to a clan, and an untied dark elf has more freedom and variation in his or her life. However, clanless individuals usually miss out on the stronger and more intricate sensations that clan secrets hold in store, and many prefer diving straight for the depths instead of swimming around on the surface. Joining a clan can usually be done by becoming an apprentice of one of the members or being adopted into it. How difficult it is depends on the clan. Some of the older clans have developed unique spiritual or biological traits after dedicating themselves to a certain practice for centuries; these clans are the most prestigious and powerful in Malekith. 'Broken Heart' 'Philosophy' Mistakenly referred to by outsiders as the social elite of Malekith, kabal of the Broken Heart is nevertheless the most refined and sophisticated, if not opulent and decadent part of the dark elven community. They strive to "experience the ultimate bliss through stimulation of the senses". Sybarites are the least violent of the dark elves, spending their time indulging in various acts of hedonism, and contrary to foreign belief, not only of erotic nature – they also express themselves through painting, fashion, crafts, music, sports and many other cultural practices. Never quite content with what they have, followers of Passion are known to put considerable effort into amassing wealth, all in order to surround themselves with the luxury they crave. Neither are these night elves reserved about sharing their pleasures with others, and are the most sociable, seductive and charismatic of their kind. 'Position' Holding the political and economical reins in the city, this kabal is in charge of funding and administration, as well as trade, diplomacy and foreign relations, where their qualities are best put to use. Sybarites are commonly merchants, artists, craftsmen, architects, ministers, travelers and delegates. With the emergence of corporate commerce in other countries, they have established their influence all over the world. Because of they have no interest in fighting, their combat abilities are usually poor and they do not travel in dangerous places without Warriors or hired guards to accompany them. Magic use above basic levels is also uncommon, because the boring and tedious process of learning spells is not something a Sybarite would put up with. They rely on their innate charisma and intuition instead of formal education, as they are not willing to spend time on schooling. Instead, they keep educated slaves around to manage accounting and other drudgery for them. 'Property' The kabal's capital building is the Spire of Passion; essentially the royal palace of Malekith. Due to its remarkably greedy inhabitants, the Spire is famous in Nyxheim for attracting all sorts of precious artifacts of both magical and material value. It is also the seat of the royal family. Because it is built with their money, the majority of the residential sector in Malekith technically belongs to the kabal, but that fact is rarely noticed by anyone. Of course, the Sybarites themselves own the largest and most lavish mansions, as well as pretty much all of the domestic business. Followers of Passion are also more likely than other dark elves to own property in foreign lands. 'Crying Soul' 'Philosophy' Kabal of the Crying Soul is a congregation of priests, mages, researchers and necromancers whose families formed the old religious body of Malekith, namely that of pre-soul essence Arcanum and the pre-Schism Church of Necromancy. They seek to "achieve complete self-fulfillment through spiritual and intellectual pursuit". Grief contains the most ancient of the dark eldar clans, some of which are millennia old. They devote their existences to studying the structure of the universe and all of its components. The most popular choices within this infinitely vast field of research are the Web of Dreaming, magic, mysticism and the sentient soul. They also concern themselves with the infinite, the inexplicable and the paradoxical. A Warlock's thirst for knowledge can never be quenched; no matter how much they learn, they will want more. They are also infamous for their choice of methods to obtain that knowledge – experiments of all kinds are conducted on slaves, often resulting in fates much worse than death for the latter, all in the name of progress. The most outstanding individuals of the kabal gain entry into the Keep of Secrets, the headquarters of Grief. The precise reasons why they are actually named Grief have been forgotten; the common version is that it refers to their victims rather than to themselves. 'Position' Soul essence, the lifeblood of Malekith, is extracted, stored and managed by this kabal. Aside from providing the raw material, Warlocks are the ones who research and refine it, giving this sinister yet wondrous resource even more value. Most followers of the Crying Soul engage in magic and natural sciences, trying to grasp both the logical and the mystical, and often achieving mind-bending results. Mental disorders are very common in this kabal, because many warlocks are driven to madness by the sheer borderlessness of their studies. Insanity is not considered a handicap in Grief, but rather "a removal of the limitations imposed by logic", opening many new paths to a previously rational, and thus constricted, mind. The greatest of Warlocks are initiated into the Pendulum Society – an esoteric cult revolving around the desire to surmount space and time. All clans in the Crying Soul have evolved on a genetic level, allowing for a much higher average IQ and brain processing power; necessary traits for ones who concern themselves with teachings of such absurd magnitude. The kabal's intellectual superiority has one drawback, however – it has made them incredibly paranoid. They protect their achievements extremely jealously, to the point that they hide them even from other dark elves. The wise assume the secluded Keep of Secrets to contain magics and technologies many generations ahead of the world, but thorough effort is applied to prevent outsiders from even getting a glimpse of what is going on in there. The amazing spells and devices that Grief does lend their fellow dark elves are evidently just the tip of the iceberg. The fear of their secrets being stolen has made Warlocks very reclusive and highly suspicious of foreigners. When they have to travel, they do so incognito or simply hire someone else to do the remote work for them if possible. 'Property' Crying Soul presides over the Tantalize Reside district, which now houses the Altar of Grief – an immense torture facility where soul essence is extracted and stored. Most Warlocks who make this place their base of research have their homes right here in the Reside, so that they can spend less time walking and more time working. The kabal's headquarters, and the seat of their Archon is the Keep of Secrets, which is located close to the city. The Pendulum Society is also based there. Due to the reclusive nature of its followers, the kabal does not own any property outside of Malekith, and does not seek any. 'Bloody Claw' 'Philosophy' Kabal of the Bloody Claw incorporates the old Malkian military caste, in addition to the long-disbanded Slaver Guild and the families of the now extinct dark elven mafia structures. They simply want to "influence the material world and the life that inhabits it", with an accent on the latter. And the biggest way to influence someone's life, is, of course, to end it. Staying true to its namesake, Murder is a kabal that revolves primarily around that act, and features perhaps the most brutal and violent agenda ever witnessed in a sentient community. Warriors train in the art of killing as efficiently as possible, while inflicting the maximal possible amount agony and terror on their victims; the way of proving their superiority on the physical plane. They are also prone to modifying their bodies with various kinds of appendages and implants, extensively studying biology to that end. Additionally, a warrior must always strike first and leave before the enemy can avenge their losses – nothing is quite as satisfying as being untouchable. Therefore, the kabal's battle tactics are based on short-term but exceptionally hard-hitting weapons, deception, maneuvers, and above all, unmatchable speed. 'Position' Murder governs three very important things Malekith: weapons, vehicles and slaves. Seeing as Grief refuses to share most of their technology, followers of the Bloody Claw have developed that of their own in regards of weaponry. Their vehicles employ anti-gravity essence capacitators that allow them to skim across, and over, any terrain at great speed. In conjunction with their vicious tactics, they raid foreign communities and abduct innocent people to be used for manual labor or mined for soul essence; and the armed forces defending those communities are seldom able to intercept the assailants due to sheer difference in mobility. Besides serving for war and raiding, the flying vehicles are necessary for simple transport – there is no way to enter or leave Malekith by land. Unsurprisingly, Warriors only find employ in military, security and law enforcement departments. There is also an assassin cult of Warriors, called the Serene Brotherhood. 'Property' Bloody Claw has its headquarters in the Bastion of Murder, a fortified island which floats above Malekith using the same technology that powers the dark elven skimmers. Since the kabal is responsible for Malekith's safety, it has erected numerous outposts all across the Palmir plateau. The outposts are named Towers of Carnage and serve as scouting nodes, supply points, communication arrays and many other purposes. Followers of Murder own the most vehicles and armaments, but remarkably, the least amount of slaves – those they capture are primarily contributed to other kabals. They are also considerably less wealthy than other dark elves on average, as they mostly use their rations of the valuable soul essence as fuel and munitions rather than for trade.